Landrum’s baseball season came to an end Monday, April 30.

The Cardinals lost a shootout to Dixie to 17-12 and were eliminated from the state playoffs.

Landrum’s five seniors lined up on the outfield foul line and somberly the players that will return next year lined up shaking their hands and giving them hugs.

 

The tradition was scarred by the tough loss. The Hornets will move on to play Chesterfield on Wednesday night for the District Championship.

“That’s what I hate about it,” Landrum Head Coach Ray McCallister said. “The seniors don’t get to go out on a winning note.”

Instead, the game entailed a “who’s going to score last mentality.” The teams went back and forth with their turn at the plate. For the Cardinals, the pitchers held the Hornets in check in all but two innings. Dixie scored 14 of its runs in two innings. The Hornets seven runs each in the second and fourth innings.

“Just like the whole season has gone, we were our own worst enemy,” McCallister said.

The Hornets had eight walks and three different errors allowed runs to cross the plate or runners to advance.

“We didn’t make plays when we should have,” McCallister said.

Despite some defensive flaws, there was nothing wrong with the Cardinal bats. Trevor Walker was 2-for-2 with three walks and two runs scored. Jon Humphries was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Caleb Bruce 1-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored. Connor Noland was 3-for-3 with two singles, a double and an RBI.

The Hornets were led by J.T. Newell. Newell, the game-winning pitcher, was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Camden Roland was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Despite the loss, McCallister saw a big change in his team from start to finish this season.

“We came a long way this year,” he said.